ENDEAVOR

Pope Leo XIV is the sixth pope I have known throughout my life. Thanks to social media, and to his being the first American Pope, he could well become the most well-known Pope of the modern era. Social media posts on the new Pope have proliferated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, giving the world a vivid view of his daily activities.

Pope John XXIII was the first Pope I ever knew, after I received my first Holy Communion in 1960, as a seven-year-old grade two student in St. Mary’s Academy, Pasay City. He became Pope in October 1958 when I was in kindergarten. By the time I was in grade five in Don Bosco Makati, I had learned how to be a sacristan or altar boy. After he passed away in 1963, he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI, who reigned until 1978. By then, I was already working and had earned an MBA degree.

Albino Luciani was the first Pope to be born in the 20th century. His papacy began on August 26, 1978, and ended when he died on September 28, 1978, or only 33 days later. His successor, the Polish prelate Karol Wojtyla, served as Pope John Paul II for 27 years. After him came Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a noted theologian who advocated a return to fundamental Christian values at a time of increasing secularization. Citing the fragility of his health, he resigned and opted to be a Pope emeritus on February 28, 2013, paving the way for the election of Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina as Pope Francis on March 13, 2013.

In his first four days as Pope, Leo XIV's activities focused on establishing his papacy and engaging with the Church and the wider world. He held his first Mass at the Sistine Chapel, met with the College of Cardinals, delivered his first public prayer from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, and addressed the media in a press conference. His first homily emphasized humility and the importance of the Church's "missionary outreach". He also outlined his vision for the papacy, emphasizing inclusivity and a focus on the "least and rejected".

During the homily at his first mass as Pope, he vowed to be a faithful administrator of the Catholic church, and urged the cardinals to make themselves “small”, a pitch for humility, a theme that his predecessor Pope Francis had modeled among church leaders. Keen Vatican observers noted that he was wearing black shoes, just like Francis, and had shed the red vestment he wore when he was first presented to the public that had gathered at St. Peter’s Square last May 8. He also chose to set up an altar facing them directly, instead of using the grand traditional altar at the Sistine Chapel.

CNN reports that he began his homily in English, and invited the congregation of cardinals to “recognize the marvels that the Lord has done.” Then he switched to Italian and continued with a quote from Peter, the first Catholic saint, from the gospel according to St. Matthew.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Pope Leo XIV said. “In these words, Peter, asked by the Master, together with the other disciples, about his faith in Him, expressed the patrimony that the Church, through the apostolic succession, has preserved, deepened and handed on for two thousand years.”

Evidently, he is a prelate steeped in the Church’s faith tradition. As a devoted missionary who spent many decades of pastoral service among the natives of the Peruvian Andes mountains, he immersed himself in reaching out and serving impoverished communities. He even embraced concurrent Peruvian citizenship to signify his solidarity with the people at the grassroots that comprised his diocesan constituency.

Another poignant image conveyed by Vatican media was his visit to the tomb of his predecessor Pope Francis at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. He placed a rose at the burial place, then knelt in prayer for the man who, only two years ago, elevated him to the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis tapped him to lead the Dicastery for Bishops, known as the body that vets the appointment and deployment of bishops in dioceses throughout the Catholic world.

For his first trip outside the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV chose to visit the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, just outside Rome. The shrine has been run by the Augustinians since 1200. The new Pontiff’s role model, Pope Leo XIII, who served from 1878 to 1903, had a strong emphasis on workers' rights and Catholic social doctrine. Pope Leo XIV is also the first pope of the Augustinian order, a global order named for St. Augustine.

Pope Leo XIII is remembered for his belief that pastoral activity in political sociology is also a vital mission of the church. As a vehicle of social justice, it focuses on upholding the rights and dignity of the human person. He issued a record 11 papal encyclicals on the rosary, earning him the title Rosary Pope.

Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum “discusses the relationships and mutual duties between labor and capital, as well as government and its citizens…the need for some amelioration of the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.” It is considered a foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching.

Indeed, the election of Pope Leo XIV is generating waves of enthusiasm for a vibrant and dynamic manifestation of the tenets of the Catholic faith, one that is grounded on compassion and dedication to the uplift of the least and the rejected among God’s people.

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